Fueled by females, Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock‘s The Heat ended up having all the firepower at the North American box office as their new R-rated comedy crushed Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx‘s big-budget tentpole White House Down.

From 20th Century Fox, The Heat opened to a rousing $40 million, signaling another major win for McCarthy and her Bridesmaids director Paul Feig. The pic also marks McCarthy’s best opening to date for a lead role — as well as the best opening ever for Bullock and Feig.

Conversely, director Roland Emmerich‘s White House Down debuted to a dismal $25.7 million. The action pic cost a pricey $150 million to produce and is the second Sony summer tentpole to flop after Will Smith‘s After Earth. The studio does have two high-profile summer tentpoles yet to open, both of which have strong buzz: Grown Ups 2 and Elysium.

Among other weekend highlights, Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Man of Steel jumped the $500 million mark globally. The Superman pic placed No. 5 domestically, grossing $20.8 million in its third weekend for total of $248.7 million.

Summit’s sleeper hit Now You See Me raced past the $100 million mark in North America and crossed $150 million worldwide. The magician heist pic has earned $104.7 million domestically and $48.7 million internationally for a total $153.4 million.

At the specialty box office, Pedro Almodovar‘s I’m So Excited, starring Penelope Cruz and AntonioBanderas, opened slightly less than his other recent offerings, grossing $102,730 from five theaters for a location average of $20,546. Sony Classics Pictures, which has a longtime relationship with the filmmaker, is distributing the indie film in the U.S.